Former Carthage rehabilitation center worker sentenced

CARTHAGE (AP) — A former employee of a Carthage rehabilitation center was sentenced to 10 years in prison for stealing more than $44,000 from center residents.

A judge sentenced 41-year-old Kristi Metcalf Monday for receiving stolen property and abuse of a health care recipient. Three other counts of financial abuse were dismissed.

The Joplin Globe reported the judge ordered Metcalf to pay $44,561 in restitution to center residents and another $15,370 to the state to cover the costs of prosecuting the case.

Metcalf worked at the Carthage Health and Rehabilitation Center from March 2008 through July 2012. A state investigator testified at an earlier hearing that she found 244 suspicious cash withdrawals from the trust accounts of four residents at the center and one suspicious check withdrawal.